Criminal Justice
Open systems theory believes that organizations are not simple “closed” bureaucratic structures which are separate from their surroundings, but should be considered as highly complex entities. In fact, they face considerable uncertainty in their operations as they closely interact with the environment (Milakovich and Gordon, 2009, p.176). These systems simply refer to the concept that organizations are intensely influenced by the environment that surrounds them. The environmental factors cover the organizations that which have the tendency to exert economic, political, or social nature forces. There are key resources that have been identified to help in sustaining the organization that may result to change as a means to survive. Open systems can be closely associated with the concept of human relations. According to Milakovich and Gordon (2009, p.176), this theory has assumed that organizational components will seek an equilibrium among the forces which demands them to respond to said forces.
However, it bears stressing that open systems are highly complex, interdependent and has overlapping boundaries, which may entail the characterization of change and uncertainty of the surrounding internal and external forces.
Within the open systems view, it is vital that the criminal justice administrators should realize the overall responsibility of coordination between the criminal justice agencies (Cronkhite, 2013, p. 204). One of trends of crime prevention is to reduce crime prevention assignments in order to augment the crime fighting resources. According to Conkhite (2013, p.204) crime prevention will save money and recommends that the criminal justice system should document the cost-benefit ratio of crime prevention efforts and to use such facts to build a community and government support for prevention programs that work.
It was Harvard professor Elton Mayo, who studied the open systems phenomenon in better detail (Milakovich and Gordon, 2009). It was revealed that increase in productivity has a causal connection to the human behavior, known as the Hawthorne effect. It was further explained that workers in who came from various groups feel they are given special attention and help them to develop a sense of pride to motivate them improve their performance. These informal groups were created based on social relations which the members foster while inside and outside of the organization. The work attitude can influence their work attitudes and increase one’s productivity. As the social groups are formed, the workers work in harmony within workplace and their social groups, as they contribute personal values and behaviors which can cause a significant impact on the internal operation of an organization.
Cronkhite (2004, p.204) stated that the open system theory believes that the best way to prevent crimes is to reduce the amount of crime prevention personnel to remove the cost of expenses. To be able to meet the contemporary challenges, progressive criminal justice administrators have discovered that crime prevention efforts are effectively applied through an open systems approach which involved resources outside of their agencies (Cronkhite, 2004, p.204). Some of these approaches shall include the media, in order to convey crime suggestions to the public. Another approach is to prevent the victims to become repeated victims. On the part of the community, programs shall be created such as crime prevention specialist programs whose members shall come from majority of volunteer citizen (Cronkhite, 2004, p.204). There is a need for the local legislation and review of building permits to ensure that the new construction includes building designs that prevent crime.
Other governmental agency which can safeguard and promote child welfare is known as Child Protective Services. The primary purpose of the child protective service agency’s civil investigation is to protect the child danger inside the home and to remove the child if appropriate safeguards can be applied. Reese (2005) stated that the most urgent concern after the diagnosis of a child who has been found to be abused or neglected is to ensure his or her safety, which requires an agency to attend to the children’s needs. There is a need to undergo an appropriate investigation to determine who committed the abuse, the extent of injuries suffered by the child and to what extent the child is in danger to prevent further damage to the child victims.
Based on the Victim Assistance Program of Ohio (2013), they have a community victim advocacy program that is interrelated to community policing. The Community Oriented Policing (COP) program intervention emphasize on the direct impact of violent crimes on individual persons, schools and the society. On the part of the police victim promoters, they are required to mediate during crime scenes and address other traumas caused on the victims. Some of the violent crimes and traumatic events include serious vehicle injuries, suicide and tragic deaths. Some of the assistance programs will have to focus on the common victims including battered women, children, disabled, elderly, homeless, illegal immigrants, and members of the GLTB group or the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. Each state should create their own victim assistance program to provide temporary shelter to the victims of abuse and violence.
On the part of the police and other civilian volunteers, they should work hand in hand to be able to provide the physical and emotional needs of the victims who perceive themselves to be stigmatized class such as those who belong from the group of GLTB, disabled, elderly and minority groups. Underwood & Edmunds (2002) stated that the victim assistance programs should are working towards maintaining equal rights on the basis of social justice and treating them with dignity and respect. The victim assistance programs must be organized in such a way that particular issues referring to each type of victim are addressed. Such as in the case of rape, abuse and incest victims, the local rape crisis centers must be able to conduct outreach programs to centers which house victims of assault (Underwood and Edmunds, 2002). In the case of missing and exploited children, elderly and disabled individuals including members of the GLTB (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered). These victim assistance centers must be able to provide advice and technical assistance to the parents and victims of the relatives, prosecutors and child service professional who can help them seek for justice for the vindication of their rights.
The police and the civilian community must work hand in hand to protect the victims from further violence. In terms of the participation of the community, the Community Oriented Policing (COP) philosophy has been proven to increase the number of successfully resolved crimes and improve the system and performance of the agency. In community policing, there is a demand for creativity and resourcefulness of the agency by changing the police leadership that complies with the new requirements of effective policing. It is vital that COP philosophy must be implemented and not to place concentration on the strict enforcement of policing to make the police agency more proactive. Baker (2011) stated that the police will have to work closely with the community to identify concerns and implement solutions. Joint efforts should be exerted by the police and the community to arrive at concrete goals and objectives for the benefit of the entire nation. The delegation of power by the agency to the citizenry will be able to prevent and control crimes and provide protection individual rights and maintain a strong security system inside the community (Cordner and Scarborough, 2011). Therefore, there is a need to work collaboratively among the leaders, workers, customers and other clientele.
Applying this theory to the design of police agencies, it is the responsibility of the criminal justice administrator of the police juvenile division to reduce juvenile crime as an open systems approach. There is also a need to identify the common causes of juvenile crime. Some of the common causes why youth crimes continuously increase is due to the following: lack of parental supervision of the parents as the children come home from school and no one is at home, no central interest in life and a feeling of disenfranchisement with society, contributing mental, physical or physiological ailment, and the failure of the juvenile justice system to take the necessary steps to prevent the continuing juvenile delinquency (Cronkhite, 2004, p.208).
References:
Office of the Child and Family Services of the State of New York (2013). Web. April 17, 2013.
http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/cps/
Cronkhite, C.L. (2013). Law Enforcement and Justice Administration: Strategies for the 21st
Century. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Gaines, L.K. and Miller, R.L. (2012). Criminal Justice in Action. California: Cengage.
Milakovich, M.E. & Gordon, G.J. (2009). Public Administration in America. California:
Cengage.
Reese, R. M. (2005). Treatment of Child Abuse: Common Ground for Mental Health, Medical,
and Legal Practitioners. Maryland: John Hopkins University Press.
Underwood, T.L. and Edmunds, C. (2002). Victim Assistance: Exploring Individual Practice,
Organizational Policy, and Societal Responses. New York. Springer.
Victim Assistance Programs (2010). Web. April 17, 2013. http://www.victimassistanceprogram.org/
